The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters draw ceremony was held on Friday afternoon and the result is a rough road for No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev.
Zverev’s path to the title could be as follows: Matteo Berrettini in the second round, Lorenzo Musetti in the third round, Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic in the semis, and Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Tsitsipas is the defending champion of this Masters 1000 event and has won it three of the last four years. Djokovic is seeking his third triumph in Monte-Carlo, which would mark the 100th of his career.
The 37-year-old Serb came within one win of reaching the milestone in Miami but got upset in the championship match by Jakub Mensik in a pair of tiebreakers. Djokovic will try to bounce back in Monte-Carlo, where he awaits Stan Wawrinka or Alejandro Tabilo in round two before likely going up against Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16. Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Tomas Machac, and Karen Khachanov are potential quarterfinal opponents for Djokovic.
On the other side of the bracket, Alcaraz may have a tough opener on his hands against Miami quarterfinalist Francisco Cerundolo. Their section also includes Andrey Rublev, Arthur Fils, and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Rublev will be playing his first tournament with new assistant coach Marat Safin in his box.
Elsewhere in the bottom half, Casper Ruud’s section is relatively wide open. Ruud was runner-up at this event in 2024 and obviously loves clay, but he has not been playing well this season. There could be opportunities for Jack Draper, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
First-round matches to watch this coming week include Medvedev vs. Khachanov, Shelton vs. Davidovich Fokina, Tiafoe vs. Miomir Kecmanovic, Fils vs. Tallon Griekspoor, and Jiri Lehecka vs. Sebastian Korda.
who ya got?
Great draw, great tourney….where’s Mensik?…and Carlos to win
Mensik rest